US, Kiwi hopes ride on Z-boats

As New Zealand's Sydney to Hobart line honours hope Zana sped towards Australian waters yesterday, another overseas challenger declared his intentions to take overall handicap honours in this year's race.

While the 30-metre Kiwi maxi was expected to sail into Sydney Harbour from New Zealand late today or early tomorrow, American Skip Sheldon arrived in town intent on adding the Sydney-Hobart to a bulging list of victories for that other "Z-boat" in the race - his 20-metre Zaraffa.

This year Sheldon's yacht has taken overall honours in the North Atlantic and Newport-Bermuda races and finished third on handicap in the Middle Sea event.

The septuagenarian sailor has assembled a star-studded multinational crew, drawing sailors from the US, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sweden and Canada.

Sheldon said recruiting a multinational crew was part of modern-day professional sailing, but added that the key to success was experience and achieving the right mix of personalities.

Asked about his expectations for the Sydney-Hobart, Sheldon said: "We want to win it.

"There's no question in the mind of these guys that this is a serious undertaking, and I don't think anybody is under any illusions that if we don't win it's because another boat is better sailed and the handicaps are fair."

Sheldon decided last year to enter Zaraffa for this year's bluewater classic.

"We didn't need a big excuse to come and do this but you've got to do it seriously, and it takes a lot of money and it takes a lot of planning," he said.

Meanwhile, Zana's Kiwi owner, Stewart Thwaites, said he would fly to Sydney today to welcome his boat, with the rest of the race crew expected to arrive over the following few days for intensive training and sail evaluation.

"We sailed her hard from Wellington to Auckland, a distance that is only 100 miles short of the Sydney to Hobart course," Thwaites said.

"We got a hammering in 45-55 knot headwinds, nothing broke and there has been no damage on the delivery trip."

His strong crew of 24 includes America's Cup sailors Stu Bannantyne, Cameron Appleton and Peter Sutton, plus several others who have sailed for Team New Zealand and in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Zana and the other new 30-metre maxi Skandia, owned by Victorian Grant Wharington, are considered the favourites for line honours in the 627-nautical-mile race, which starts on Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day. Geneva, Switzerland: The yachts in the next America's Cup regatta in 2007 should be lighter, quicker and more closely matched, according to organisers.

AC Management, which is running the event in Valencia, Spain, said it had made a number of changes to the design regulations to fit the event to the conditions in the Mediterranean.

"The goal was to make America's Cup racing closer, more vibrant and compelling, and increase the possibility of place changes downwind," AC Management said in a statement.

The new regulations will reduce the weight of boats by a tonne and increase the depth of their keels. The downwind sails will be bigger and the crew increased from 16 to 17. The design parameters will be narrowed so boats should be more similar.

AC Management said the changes should make the yachts more manoeuvrable and increase the possibilities for them to pass each other.

The new designs will have about the same upwind speed as the current America's Cup boats but, AC Management said, the increased sail area, a longer spinnaker pole and a lighter boat would "make for a more interesting boat downwind - one that will accelerate better, respond to gusts more quickly, and ultimately sail faster through the water".